PHOTO GALLERY (2)

Old Trucks & Stuck Trucks - Limited Articulation

From the archives: This "unidentifiable" museum piece consisting of 1914-'29 parts was our first-ever Ugly Truck winner back in December 1990. This rig's owner only won bragging rights, but nowadays, we've got prizes to give away too.

If misery loves company, four-wheelers are seldom alone. While we don't like to admit it (in mixed company, anyway), we've gotten stuck in all sorts of embarrassing ways over the years. It's never been our fault, of course (idiot tech editor-er, spotter), but it's the kind of humbling experience we share in common with virtually all of our readers. Except you, of course. We know you never get stuck.

This month, 20 of our loyal readers share some of their best (worst) trail mishaps with you, and for their efforts, we're sending each of them a box of certified FW swag (OK, T-shirts, hats, license plates, and whatever else we've got laying around the office), and one (un)lucky Grand Prize winner gets to take home a $2,000 parts certificate from 4-Wheel Parts. Who said getting stuck can't be a rewarding experience?

Also this month, we're bringing back an idea whose time has come again: namely, we're looking for America's Ugliest Truck, and we're giving away goodies to some lucky readers who are willing to stake their claim to being proud owners of the Most Gruesome 4x4 in The Land. We'll consider all sorts of criteria when judging your entries-age and rarity of the vehicle, overall aesthetics, and intended use (parts bin, boat anchor, shooting target, and so on). We'll also recognize "special cases," so if your Ugly Duckling is only a two-wheel drive, send it in anyway, and we'll give it a look. If we receive enough entries, we'll even consider adding special categories such as Ugliest Interior, Ugliest Combo (trail rig and tow rig), Ugliest Overall State of Neglect, and so forth. Turn to page 48 to find out how to enter, then send us some pics of your worst rolling nightmares and stay tuned in a few months to see the "winners" in our March 2009 issue.

Finally, we've got big news from Detroit as Ford and Dodge take the wraps off their new-for-'09 1/2-ton pickup trucks. Granted, with high fuel prices and tight credit lines, it's a tough time right now for the manufacturers to be launching new fullsize vehicles, but for those of you-and we know there are plenty of you out there-who've simply got to have a pickup truck to suit the demands of your work or your lifestyle, both the new F-150 and Ram 1500 are definitely worth a testdrive if you're in the market for a new truck. And whatever you think of them, they are certainly not ugly, by any definition of the word. Check out our reviews on page 30 and 34 for all the details.